Video: Elizabeth McGovern Explains What AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS Is All About

Oh my God, I can't even describe to you how excited I am

I've been working on this for eight years, and we've had different incarnations of it

and now this is just the ultimate dream for me. I mean, life doesn't usually work this way

I'm just, I can't even really comprehend how excited I am. Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

Ava, The Secret Conversations, is the new play written by and starring Academy Award nominee Elizabeth McGovern

who is taking on the iconic screen goddess, Ava Gardner. Performances begin on July 30th at City Center Stage 1

and we drop by the Oak Room at the Algonquin to catch up with the company right before their first rehearsal

What was it in the beginning that made you say, I want to write this, I want to do this, I want to play her

It was just a chance encounter with a book that was on my bookshelf

which was the book that Peter Evans had written about the conversations he had with Ava Gardner

when she was trying to write her autobiography, and he was her ghostwriter

And he published, after she died, the conversations they had without ever publishing the biography

And these conversations are more interesting to me than a straightforward rendition of her life

because they really get into her character and they get into the relationship that they had with one another

which I think is an important part of a biography because it's written by somebody with a point of view

and he's very much in it. So I thought, this is an interesting dynamic for on the stage because something is actually happening

These two people are having a relationship and they're trying to go back into the past and come to terms with her life story

So that was the beginning of it That was the inception of the idea So what unlocked her for you to play her Like what were some of the things Oh good question

Well, first of all, her persona just leaps off of the screen

I mean, that's why she was the star she was. There's something about who she was on that screen

which was obviously stunningly beautiful, but very authentic. She was truly true to herself

And I think I just engaged with that. I think I probably pulled on some of my early experiences

as a young actress, even though it was a completely different trajectory

my career to hers. But I could understand. I could understand the dynamics that she was negotiating

being in that position in the movie business, dealing with the characters that you encounter

in the movie business. So I think I brought a lot of my own experience to play

I don't think I could have written it without having had that experience

Elizabeth taking on Ava Gardner. What has been like that process of watching her become this screen goddess

It comes very naturally. I mean, Elizabeth's an amazing actor. And also I think that she really resonates

The story of this young woman coming to Hollywood. I mean, Elizabeth, I first saw Ms. McGovern opposite De Niro when she was 20, 21 years old

And so it's not entirely dissimilar. So I think that part of understanding that journey for her seems and feels very natural for me

And I just kind of, I mean, getting to be on stage with it is just very special

So it's very exciting for me. So when you first got to play what made you say yeah I want to do this Oh you know in reading the script over for the audition I thought this is a fascinating story You know it two incredibly dynamic really compelling people And I thought I really can wait to see how that tension plays out on stage

because I think it's going to be thrilling. So that's what I thought. Elizabeth McGovern is just incredible

You know, I've been such a fan of hers for so long, not just from Downton Abbey, of course

but from earlier stuff. And so the thought of not just working with a play, working with her on a play that she's in

but on a play that she wrote and that she really understands this world of Hollywood and the Hollywood dynamic

And so I'm so excited to get that real inside perspective of the show

Well, certainly if you're interested in the golden age of Hollywood, this has something for you. But even if you don't know anything about Ava's career or haven't seen her films or what have you

it is a play that talks about the time in Hollywood where people were being exploited or trying to be manipulated

and figuring out how to break outside of that. It is a question of whether women's sexuality can be celebrated

and be allowed to be free, or whether that becomes another thing to use against someone

Ava was both championed and celebrated for her outspoken, unabashed freedom and also was demonized and belittled and often maligned in the press for the very same reason

And all of that, I think, are unfortunately things that continue to perpetuate through our world today

along with a very narrow categorization of what gender should be. And she among many people are the people who are trying to figure out how do I navigate inside that and how do we buck against it You know because of your success on film and television especially Downton Abbey and everything else you done you may be introducing a whole new audience to the live theater

I remember when I went to see, like, Lily Munster, Yvonne DiCarlo in a show called Follies

and I was like, oh, my gosh, they do this live. You know, what that means to you

maybe bringing your fan base from something else to see you do something live and introduce them to live theater

what that means to you? Oh, that is a heady thought. I mean, if there was even one person that came to the show that isn't used to seeing theater, that would make me die a happy woman

I really, really would. So, finally, what are you looking forward to the most

I know you just got here. It's like rehearsals begin today. You're going to have this gorgeous run at City Center Stage 1

What are you looking forward to the most? That's very difficult for me to choose because I love each phase of a thing

I love being in schlubby clothes and working it out in a rehearsal room

I love that initial excitement of going to the theater. And then I also really love the ritual once it's all settled

And it's like this feeling that you've got this space of time when your only job is to actually just be there in the moment

And I think it's a very healthy thing. It's very healthy for my brain. I was like, I'm not going to solve the world's problems right now

I'm just going to try to be here, like really be here for two hours a day

And I think that's what I love about the theater. It's like you ask the audience to do that too

Put away your phones. We're all going to sit down in the dark

We're going to have this experience together. We're going to go on this journey together. And that's a good thing for the human brain to do

So I love all the phases. I can't answer that